Monitoring of various parameters and conditions downhole during drilling operations is important in locating and retrieving hydrocarbons, such as oil and gas, from downhole. Monitoring of the parameters and conditions downhole is commonly defined as “logging.” Boreholes are drilled through various formations at different levels of temperature/pressure to locate and retrieve hydrocarbons. Accordingly, a number of different sensors and testers are used to monitor the parameters and conditions downhole, including the temperature and pressure, the various characteristics of the subsurface formations (such as resistivity and porosity), the characteristics of the borehole (e.g., size, shape), etc. Such sensors may include electromagnetic propagation sensors, nuclear sensors, acoustic sensors, pressure sensors, temperature sensors, etc. The data generated from the measurements by these sensors can become voluminous (e.g., data related to sonic and imaging information). It is also desirable to sample formation fluids to make decisions on the economic value and manage the reservoir. Samples have been taken down hole, at a separator or in a stock tank. Then samples are shipped to a laboratory, where the fluid is reconstituted to the reservoir conditions. The sample is then separated into a liquid component and a gas component for gas chromatography analysis. It is desirable to extract samples directly from the formation. In this end, formation testers were developed that place a seal on the formation wall and extract fluid from the formation and use the sampled fluids in wireline testing devices. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,230,244; 6,843,118; 6,658,930; 6,301,959; and 5,644,076, all assigned to the assignee of the present application and all herein incorporated by reference. Typically testing devices produce samples that must be pumped back to the surface and then tested. Other typical testing devices test downhole and the resulting data is transmitted back to the surface.
Typically, such data and samples may initially be stored in various components downhole. The data is then downloaded from these components to a computing device on the surface for analysis and possible modifications to the current drilling operations. The samples are carried to the surface for testing. A current approach for downloading of this data includes the use of low data rate electrical connections after the downhole drilling tools are pulled out of the borehole. The fluid samples are acquired when the drill string is removed from the bore hole and a wireline tester is inserted into the bore hole.